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New Kaiser Permanente Hospital

New Kaiser Permanente Hospital

To be Built in Kearny Mesa

A new, 450-bed Kaiser Permanente Hospital is going to be built on 19 acres of land at 5201 Ruffin Road in Kearny Mesa. “Kaiser Permanente’s new central hospital will be a high-tech hospital of the future,” said Mary Ann Barnes, senior vice president and executive director for Kaiser Permanente San Diego. “From green design to the latest technology, it will have all the tools to provide our members with the highest quality care in a beautiful, healing and nurturing environment.”

The hospital grounds will include a 1,400-space parking structure, wrap around healing garden and gourmet cafeteria. Inside the seven-story building will be 321 patient rooms (in the first phase of construction), which will feature sophisticated technology in telehealth, digital way-finding, clinical informatics and communication. The hospital will be the first hospital in California to earn the LEED Gold Healthcare hospital certification.

Columbia Center

Columbia Center to Get Restyling and a New Name

The 27-story Columbia Center, a 34-year-old Downtown landmark noted for its stair-step design and American flag on its rooftop, will undergo a multi-million-dollar “restyling” by its owner, New York-based Emmes Realty Services, and will get a new name — 1 Columbia Place.

“Our vision for the reimagination of 1 Columbia Place is bringing life to work,” said Scott Grady, vice president of Emmes Realty Services of California LLC, an affiliate of the Emmes Group of Companies.

The building was completed in 1980 and was acquired by Emmes in 2012 for $135 million. It’s the home of Higgs Fletcher and Mack, one of San Diego’s oldest law firms.

“The building’s systems have all been recently renovated including modernized elevators and the addition of a Building Optical Network that delivers fiber optic cable throughout the building,” said Grady. “We plan to build on the existing infrastructure with a top-to-bottom exciting restyling including a new and prominent exterior entrance on Columbia Street and a renovation of the lobby. We will also deliver more lifestyle-oriented retail and amenities to meet the demands of today’s workforce.”

Designed by LPA Inc., the restyling will include an updated facade on Columbia Street, a modern lobby with new furnishings, color palette and digital displays, and new signage throughout the building. There also are plans for a new eatery, gourmet coffee shop and a fitness center.

Scripps Health Makes Top 10 List for Executive Women

Scripps Health has been named one of the “Top 10 Nonprofit Companies for Executive Women” for 2014 by the National Association for Female Executives. The list recognizes organizations whose policies and practices encourage women’s advancement and whose numbers at the highest levels of leadership demonstrate that commitment. Scripps, which was ranked No. 8, was recognized for its innovative policies and practices to help women advance in the workplace. Of Scripps’ 13,500 employees, 77 percent are women, and women make up 68 percent of the management group. Scripps has 60 executives accountable for the success of all aspects of the organization – 23 of these leaders are women (39 percent).

Former UC San Diego Chancellor Honored

Marye Anne Fox

Marye Anne Fox, former UC San Diego chancellor, has been selected to receive the 2014 Clark Kerr Award for Distinguished Leadership in Higher Education. The award recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary and distinguished contributions to the advancement of higher education. It was established in 1968 as a tribute to the leadership and legacy of University of California President Emeritus Clark Kerr.

The award is bestowed by the UC Berkeley Academic Senate, which noted in Fox’s nomination: “Dr. Fox has used her scientific and administrative leadership positions to enhance the vitality of our national research enterprise by working tirelessly and effectively to strengthen science education and science policy.”

Fox served from 2004 to 2012 as chancellor of UC San Diego, one of the world’s top 15 research universities. Fox was the first permanent female chancellor of the campus, and she continues to serve as a distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC San Diego. During her tenure as chancellor of UC San Diego, the university established new research and partnership ventures to further innovation and increase international collaboration, achieved an ambitious $1 billion campaign goal, expanded academic and campus programs and facilities, and received national and international recognition in prominent university rankings.

Fox will be presented with the award at a private ceremony at UC Berkeley in March.

Pyramid Building

Iconic Pyramid Building Sold for $13.6 Million

New owner intends to shake off home furnishing tenants and develop an office and technology center

The “pyramid building” on Miramar Road, hailed as an architectural landmark when it was first opened in 1992, has been sold for $13.6 million to Alliance Diversified Holdings LLC and will be turned into a creative office and technology center and renamed The San Diego Innovation Center. Allied Diversified is a private equity firm with an office in La Jolla.

“As one of the most recognizable and architecturally notable office buildings in San Diego, The San Diego Innovation Center will be a natural fit for technology, R&D, medical/wellness, and traditional office tenants seeking creative office space,” said Brandon Keith of Voit Real Estate Services, which brokered the transaction with seller APEX 1 & 2 LP. “The first floor, which has historically been leased to home furnishing tenants, will now be leased to business support services and amenity-based uses in order to better serve other tenants.”

The 131,218-square-foot, six-story building at 7310 Miramar Road was originally part of the Miramar Metroplex.

The new owner intends to invest in cosmetic upgrades of the building to provide a more professional office atmosphere, and to improve suites on each floor in order to accommodate interested tenants.

“This building was actually a bit before its time,” said Ted Eldredge, president of Alliance Diversified. “We will now be able to bring this dynamic property to its full potential as a creative shell in which creative companies will thrive.”

Barney & Barney Sold to New York Agency

San Diego’s Barney & Barney LLC, the nation’s 34th largest brokerage firm, has been acquired by Marsh & McLennan Agency of White Plains, N.Y., a subsidiary of insurance broker Marsh LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1909, Barney & Barney has annual revenue of $100 million and 500 employees, all of whom will join Marsh & McLennan. Barney & Barney will serve as the agency’s Western regional hub under the leadership of Barney & Barney CEO Paul Hering.

“We are excited to begin a new chapter with the MMA team. This transition is an excellent opportunity to expand our reach, ensuring new opportunities for our associates and more resources for our clients,” said Hering.

Conrad Prebys Gives $20 Million to San Diego State

Philanthropist Conrad Prebys has donated $20 million to San Diego State University — the largest single gift it has ever received — that will

Conrad Prebys

endow scholarships benefiting around 150 students a year. In exchange, the new student union building will be called the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union.

“The idea of scholarships for students intrigued me, because I know how difficult it is going to college right now,” Prebys said. “Back when I was going to school, it was no big deal to work while you were going to school. Now it can’t be done, really. It’s very difficult and expensive.”

Prebys’ gift will be used for scholarships to help former foster youths, student veterans, those pursuing biomedical research and engineering, those studying creative and performing arts, student entrepreneurs and leaders, and those in the SDSU Honors program.

The gift pushes the total for the multi-year Campaign for SDSU to $465 million. The fundraising campaign has a goal of $500 million.

– KPBS report

Children’s Books by San Diego Author

Receive Magazine’s Family Choice Award

Kathryn Cloward

The popular Kathryn the Grape series authored by San Diegan Kathryn Cloward — three children’s books and a music CD — has been honored with the 2014 Family Choice Award presented by Family Magazine. The award recognizes the best in children’s and parenting products.

Cloward, the founder and CEO of Kandon Unlimited Inc., home of Kandon Publishing and Kathryn the Grape Company, said the award represents a “stamp of approval from one of the most coveted, family-friendly consumer awards programs in the nation.”

The series consists of “Kathryn the Grape Just Like Magic,” “Kathryn the Grape’s Colorful Adventure,” “Kathryn the Grape’s Piece of Love,” and “Believe — Kathryn the Grape Songs for Kids of All Ages.”

Cloward, a 2010 winner of SD METRO’s 40 Under 40 Award, is currently working on the fourth book in the Kathryn the Grape series as well as another music CD that will accompany it. She’s also overseeing the production of soft-cover versions of the first three books, which she said will facilitate easier worldwide distribution — in preparation for their translation into at least three other languages by the end of the year.

Hughes Marino Adds Staff to Orange County Office

Hughes Marino has added three new staff members to its Orange County operations as part of its efforts to provide exclusive representation to tenants and buyers seeking properties throughout Southern California.

The San Diego-based company hired Jeffrey Shepard as principal and senior vice president. Shepard was previously the chairman of the board and a co-founding partner of Cresa Orange County, a firm in the same industry. Shepard’s 25 years of tenant advocacy for clients across the United States includes managing and negotiating large office and industrial leases, property and land acquisitions and dispositions, and build-to-suit projects.

Hughes Marino has also hired Mike Lewis as a vice president in its Orange County office. Lewis, who was previously with Travers Realty Corp. in Newport Beach, has been advising clients on site selection, lease negotiations and project management since 2010. He earned the Irvine Company’s “Young Dealmakers of the Year” award in 2012 and 2013.

The third new staff member is Julia Myers, hired as client relations manager.

Tucker Hughes, director of Hughes Marino, relocated to Newport Beach and founded the Orange County office a year ago, after working for several years in the firm’s headquarters in San Diego.

Scripps Proton Therapy Center

Scripps Opens Region’s First Proton Therapy Center

Local health care and community leaders celebrated the grand opening of San Diego County’s first proton treatment center for cancer care. The $220 million Scripps Proton Therapy Center is just the 15th facility in the United States to offer proton therapy — the most accurate radiation treatment available, which attacks solid tumors while preserving far more of the surrounding healthy tissue nd organs.

The Scripps center is the first in the nation to treat patients exclusively with “pencil-beam scanning,” the latest advancement in proton therapy that lets doctors “paint” radiation onto tumors with unmatched precision and versatility.

The new center, located at 9730 Summers Ridge Road, has the capacity to treat 2,400 patients annually when fully operational.

San Diego Institutions To Take Part

In New Center for Stem Cell Genomics

A team bringing together experts and investigators from seven different major California institutions — five from San Diego — has been awarded $40 million to create a new Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics, by California’s stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The Center of Excellence will focus on bridging the fields of genomics — studying the complete genetic make-up of a cell or organism — with stem cell research. The goal is to use these tools to gain a deeper understanding of the disease processes in cancer, diabetes, heart disease and mental health, and ultimately to try and find safer and more effective ways of using stem cells in medical research and therapy.

“This Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics shows why we are considered one of the global leaders in stem cell research,” says Alan Trounson, president of the stem cell agency. “Bringing together this team, to do this kind of work means we will be better able to understand how stem cells change as they grow and become different kinds of cells. That deeper knowledge, that you can only get through a genomic analysis of the cells, will help us develop better ways of using these cells to come up with new treatments for deadly diseases.”

The Center of Excellence consists of Stanford University and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies as the joint principal investigators. UC San Diego, the Scripps Research Institute, the J. Craig Venter Institute and Illumina Inc., all in San Diego, will collaborate on the project; UC Santa Cruz will run the data coordination and management component.

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Voice Your Opinion

We Want Your Opinions on San Diego’s Big Issues
In the coming months, Probosky Research (one of California’s leading opinion research firms) will continue its partnership with SD METRO to survey San Diego residents about topics of interest to our readers. We’d like to throw open the door for suggestions for topics. What do you want to know? What do you think you know, but aren’t sure? What are you certain you know, but want to prove it beyond doubt? Ideally, we’d like to see questions that have to do with public policy.
Some areas may include Mayor Filner’s first 100 days job performance, should the city be responsible for economic growth and the creation of new jobs, how important are infrastructure improvements to our daily lives (streets and bridges, etc.), how important is water independence, how satisfied are residents with public transit or how do city residents value Balboa Park and other open spaces? Do you believe the City Council should revive the Plaza de Panama plan for Balboa Park?
You can email Probolsky Research directly with your ideas: info@probolskyresearch.com